Philadelphia Union are coming home with three points after Jack Elliott and Fafa Picault lifted them to a 3-2 win over New England Revolution. There were plenty of takeaways from a back and forth showdown.
Set piece power
The Revs leaky set piece defense did them in early. First, Philly created a 2v1 on a corner and that freed up Haris Medunjanin to serve a ball into the box for Elliott to touch past Matt Turner. Next, Picault joined Medunjanin and Dockal outside the box for a corner, making a 3v2 that New England once again could not handle. Picault’s left-footed drive struck the post and rebounded to Elliott for the center back’s second goal.
The Revs evened the match up in the second half off a dead ball play of their own. Wilfried Zahibo started from an offsides position, and when Haris Medunjanin moved to block the angle to the near post, nobody else was close enough to Zahibo’s zone to close down the big midfielder and he had freedom to tuck the ball away.
There was still more madness to come off restarts, however, with Antonio Delamea throwing an arm at Medunjanin’s 75th minute corner and earning a caution and a penalty that Picault dispatched. Three set plays, three goals conceded for Brad Friedel’s boys.
Big in the box
Auston Trusty had 11 clearances and two blocks. Elliott added four more blocked shots. Even though the Union conceded two goals, they defended their box quite well in open play, blocking or bodying up almost anything coming from the center of the area. This left New England to threaten from tight angles, and Andre Blake was up to the task, getting down well to push away Cristian Penilla’s dangerous effort off the left.
On the other end, Philly was aggressive and dangerous all night in Matt Turner’s area, with both Ale Bedoya and Cory Burke unable to put free headers past the Revs goalie.
Showing new wrinkles
CJ Sapong started on the wing and Ale Bedoya ended the match there. With Ilsinho still out, Jim Curtin went with the most in-form lineup he had, adding the industrious and physical Sapong to challenge aerially on the right while Cory Burke chased down everything up the middle. This new look produced some big moments, with Sapong and Burke combining to create a great opportunity that Burke knocked off the post in the first half.
The worry for Philly is that by starting their two regular strikers together they may not be able to rotate as they have throughout the season. This is where Derrick Jones shows up. After a strong performance at Portland, Curtin turned to Jones again in the second half of the New England match, asking the big midfielder to shut things down. This allowed Bedoya to push out wide, giving the Union a strong and smart midfield across the center and wide areas as they defended their lead.
Philly now has a week to prepare for New York City FC to visit next weekend; it is a week they will spend above the playoff line.
